Tsunami hits Japan

Saitama Shimbun via kyodo News /Associated Press Workers inspect a caved-in section of a prefectural road in Satte, Saitama Prefecture, after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Japan slammed its eastern coast Friday.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Tsunami waves swirl near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Tarmac, parking lot and surrounding area are covered with mud and debris carried by tsunami at Sendai Airport in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, ships and boats are washed ashore in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefectur, Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a masive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, water surrounds the airport building at Sendai Airport, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a massive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Flames rise from houses and debris half submerged in tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, ships and boats are washed ashore in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefectur, Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a masive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, water floods across the runway as airplanes are seen parked, background, near the airport building at Sendai Airport, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a massive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Houses swallowed by tsunami waves burn in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, water floods across the runway as airplanes are seen parked, background, near the airport building at Sendai Airport, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a massive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

Hiro Komae /Associated Press Commuters sit stranded at Tokyo railway station as train services are suspended due to a powerful earthquake Friday, March 11, 2011. The largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coasts Friday.

Hiro Komae

AP Photo/Kyodo News Traffic is jammed on a road in Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture (state), Japan, after a powerful earthquake, the largest in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coasts Friday.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Black smoke rises from a burning building in Tokyo after Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday.

AP Photo/Nexco East Japan via kyodo News In this photo released by Nexco East Japan, a worker inspects a caved-in section of the Joban Motorway near Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Japan slammed its eastern coast Friday.

AP Photo/Kyodo News People at a book store react as the store's ceiling falls in Sendai, northern Japan Friday, March 11, 2011. Japan was struck by a magnitude-8.8 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, triggering a 23-foot tsunami that washed away cars and tore away buildings along the coast near the epicenter.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, a tsunami surge sweeps cars, boats and other debris against a building in Miyaku City, Iwate Prefecture Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a massive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot (4-meter) tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP PHOTO/NHK TV In this video image taken from Japan's NHK TV, an oil refinery burns in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture Japan Friday March 11, 2011 following a massive earth quake. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot (4-meter) tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.

AP Photo/Kyodo News Light planes and vehicles sit among the debris after they were swept by a tsumani that struck Sendai airport in northern Japan on Friday March 11, 2011. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, unleashing a 23-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.